🏆 Winner: Best B2C UX in Ecommerce 2025
Rab has long been a trusted name in performance apparel - known for technical precision, innovation, and products built to withstand the world’s harshest conditions. But their digital experience wasn't living up to the brand’s reputation.
The Results
The Challenge
Rab were struggling with an outdated, inconsistent, and clunky website that hindered conversions and didn’t reflect their premium brand. It was also difficult to maintain and update, limiting the ecommerce team’s ability to launch new content and campaigns. To address this, Rab needed a complete transformation: rebuilding their ecommerce experience to deliver a faster, more intuitive site that served both customers and the Rab team more effectively.
Unified Approach
We began by immersing ourselves in Rab’s business and customers to understand how people discover, evaluate and buy performance apparel, and where the experience was falling short. This involved a full review of the site’s structure, content, and performance data to identify friction points across the journey. What we learned revealed several key issues with the existing site:
70% of users accessed the site via mobile, but the experience on mobile was inconsistent and conversion-hindering.
Crucial brand content, like sustainability and repair services, was hard to find.
PLPs lacked filtering, structure, and visual consistency.
PDPs overwhelmed some users and didn't meet the needs of technical buyers.
These insights helped shape a deeper understanding of Rab’s different audiences from technical outdoor professionals to lifestyle customers discovering the brand for the first time. To address their varied needs, we combined analytics, stakeholder input, and competitor benchmarking to define key personas and map user journeys. Working collaboratively with Rab’s team, we tested and refined ideas that balanced performance, usability, and brand expression across the site.
The Solution
Lightning-fast, mobile-first performance
Speed and accessibility were prioritised from the start. The Hyvä theme for Magento provided a lightweight foundation that dramatically improved performance, reducing mobile first interaction time from 4.6 seconds to just 1.1. A responsive front end and clean, efficient code ensure consistent delivery across devices and the scalability needed for future growth.
Intuitive navigation and content discovery
Improving findability was central to the redesign. The navigation was restructured to make it quicker for users to locate products and information, with clearer product hierarchies and simplified menus. Essential tools such as store locators and support links are surfaced throughout the journey, while brand content - from sustainability to repairs - is now integrated into the shopping experience, giving users a fuller sense of Rab’s story.
Persona-led design thinking
User journeys were redesigned around three distinct customer types:
Core mountain: Technical mountaineers needing detailed product specs
Weekender: Hobbyists who prioritise reassurance and simplicity over deep technical understanding
Everyday: Lifestyle customers focused on comfort and quality
Each page type was tailored to these behaviours. PLPs include dynamic filters and a comparison tool to help shoppers evaluate products quickly and confidently, while PDPs feature expandable specs, animated icons and zoomable visuals to cater to different levels of expertise.
Scalable, flexible content
To give Rab’s global teams more autonomy, the site was rebuilt on Storyblok CMS. Modular components allow them to create campaign pages, update imagery and video, and localise content efficiently - all without relying on developer support.
Together, these solutions transformed Rab’s ecommerce experience into one that’s faster, clearer and more adaptable for both customers and internal teams.
Client Quote
"We had some clear objectives of what was needed and were looking for a partner who could modernise and elevate our brand. It was also important for us to work with a team that we could connect with. Unified delivered on all counts."
Sean Lee, Global Head of Web - Equip Outdoor Technologies
Impact
The redesigned Rab website has delivered substantial gains in both performance and engagement. Mobile load times dropped from 4.6 seconds to 1.1, and the streamlined navigation makes product and brand content easier to explore. Dynamic filtering and improved PDP layouts help customers find the right products faster, while the fully responsive build provides a consistent experience across devices.
Persona-led enhancements ensure that technical experts, weekend adventurers and lifestyle customers all find what they need. Storyblok CMS now enables Rab’s teams to update content efficiently, keeping the site fresh and consistent across global markets.
Direct conversion rates have increased by 13 %, mobile conversions are up 26 % year-on-year, paid search conversions have risen 450 %, and checkout abandonment has decreased by 14 % across all devices. The transformation enhanced Rab’s brand expression and user experience while driving strong commercial results - positioning the business for continued growth.
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